With the new back-to-school season here, it’s time to size up your kids’ closet and hit the refresh button. But where to start? Check out Babesta’s top tips on how to make a style splash this season and shop with purpose, hitting the trends with separates that will mix and remix with swagger.

Brilliant Basics: First you want to establish your baseline fashion – the easy things that can be combined with anything else. That means a subtly awesome tee, some solid yet stylish sweats and skinny jeans, and some black boots (like Doc Martens or Native Jimmys). For girls, a great skirt (see Omamimini) or solid shorts (to be worn with tights) can be added to the mix! Don’t forget the spiffy socks!

WOW items: Add to your wardrobe some awesome items that will make you feel all that and a bag of Terra chips. That means some rockin’ concert tees, roaring animal prints, fabulous faux furs and crazy kicks. Girls, a fab dress goes a long way!

Unexpected combos: Now its time to mix and remix! Don’t only play it safe with the basics, but mix a couple complementary WOWs to get a OMG! Remember, kids can be the most daring fashionistas and time is limited. You won’t always be able to pull off so many colors and patterns so this is the time to play! Polka dots and stripes: Check! Checks and all-over prints? Why not!

Keepin’ it comfy: Most important thing for kids: they have to be comfy. If they love it, it will be worn into the ground. If its uncomfortable (itchy tags, yucky fabrics) they’ll rebel. Love tag-free when you can (Rowdy Sprout is always tag free), and organic cottons.

The Babesta Crew decided to check out the new Ninja Turtles movie to see how this generation’s version stacked up against the original that we watched as youngsters. For the most part, the major movie reviews gave the film some lousy ratings. However, the Babesta Crew begs to differ, slightly. Yes, in the grand scheme of things, the movie does have some flaws, and surely won’t be considered for best picture at the Academy Awards. But we focused on watching from the perspective of a kid, not a snooty film critic. And all-in-all, we thought the movie was pretty good, and will make for a cool outing for the little ones this month. So if looking for something cool for the kids this weekend, strap the little ones up in the dopest strollers and take them to the movies!

Let’s start with the good things! The CGI’d version of Splinter and the Turtles were definitely a huge upgrade compared to the lame “football mascot” costumed ninjas from our generation’s movie. This allowed for way more awesome fight and action scenes with spectacular martial arts exhibitions. The comparison is similar to the super lame light saber fights in the first generation of Star Wars films compared to the breathtaking ones in their new generation of movies.

The film also did a great job with the character personalities. The original Ninja Turtles that we knew were cool and funny dudes, and they were successful in keeping this intact. In fact they possibly improved on it. The turtles and the rest of the characters definitely seemed like the same “people” we remember, and maybe even a little better.

Also, the film was set in New York City. Ahh New York City, a film can never be that terrible when set in this wonderful place as you can get by just looking at all the awesome sights. And TMNT really did a great job in taking advantage of all the great scenes that the City has to offer. And lastly, the film was highly wholesome, innocent, and good natured. We don’t recall any edgy questionable content that wasn’t appropriate for children. We definitely didn’t notice any of those uncomfortable awkward movie theater moments between kids and adults.

When we get into the movie’s flaws, the huge elephant in the room was the story. It was a pretty common and uncreative journey. It was definitely your cookie cutter action movie set of events. And, they also went a little too far with their stretches of imagination. We already entered the movie expecting this, and came in with a pretty high tolerance. But even with that, some of the coincidences went way too far, to the point of eye-rolling ridiculousness.

Additionally, we felt that too much of the movie was dedicated to explaining the story. We have to cut them a break on this point however. After all, It does require a lot of time to explain how a giant Rat and four 6-foot Ninja Turtles became walking about in Manhattan. But, this did make us leave the movie hungry for more scenes that conveyed the Turtles personality, goofing around and stuff, like we remembered from our day. Fortunately, there should be plenty of room for that in the sequel!

So in Conclusion, we gave the movie a passing grade overall. The story was pretty lame and uncreative. But it provided a great visual spectacle, and the characters were awesome and likeable. We definitely wouldn’t recommend this movie for adults. But for children, it has most of the things that they look for. Oh yeah, and I’m sure the Turtles would definitely feel Babesta’s awesome fly styles! (turtle sizes not available)

We’re totally stoked to welcome Quinn & Fox to the fall lineup at Babesta! We are smitten with their hand screened tees and sweatpants with the adorable and quirky circus prints! The company, founded in 2013 by self-described “parents of two curly haired girls,” works with artists to design their funky graphics, and the tees and sweats are organic and made from scratch in California. And, per the kids who wear it, it’s super comfy to boot!

We were inspired this week by Newport Rhode Island, a beautiful and elegant town replete with seaside mansions, museums, great restaurants, beaches and more.

The “Must Do List” in Newport, includes Cliff Walk, where visitors can take a walking tour of the shoreline dotted by spectacular mansions, home long ago to the Vanderbilts and their ilk. If just seeing the outside is not enough, get a ticket to go inside and enjoy the opulent furnishings and lush settings- saddle up to a tour guide, as some of the stories are entertaining, especially for the kids, of well dressed dog companions, table manners and dining habits.

Speaking of dining, when you’re done drooling over these over-the-top pads, for a bite, head on over to The Clarke Cooke House on Bannister’s Wharf, for some fresh fish and lively atmosphere. For an after dinner ice cream, Sprinkles is a good choice on Bowan’s Wharf, where you can enjoy a casual cone while you check out the shops in the area.

Our heart belongs to TheChanler at Cliff Walk (a hotel with a delicious restaurant inside) for Sunday brunch – their menu and enviable perch are both scrumptious. The hotel is hop and a skip from Second Beach that surely wins beach with best land-view (back at the Chandler House). After showering off the sand after a delightful day at the beach, catch a movie in town at the charming Jane Pickens theater, and then grab an appetizer or two at Forty 1°North, one of the chicest hotels in town.

Tempted? Time to pack: get yourself in the spirit with these hand picked goodies: Go old school with the vintage mauve bathing suit, snazzy it up with a pair of stylish shades, hold tight to a Coco Chanel doll(in lieu of teddy), don’t forget a Pride & Prejudice primer and play set, and, if you’re really setting up shop and outfitting more than just yourself – say installing yourself in the Breakers or Rosecliff – we suggest a (so not shabby) shabby-chic canopy bed- perfect for those of us who’s last name should have been Rockefeller.

One of the biggest problems in the city is how to get a toddler around in a cab or car service safely and easily. Enter, UberFamily to solve the problem. We had first heard about this revelation while it was in development from Dr. Alisa Baer, “The Car Seat Lady” who collaborated with Uber on the service. Now a couple months in, it’s addressing a true, underserved need in the market, much to city parents’ delight. She trained and certified the highest rated UberX partner drivers on how to safely secure the car seat so you know its properly installed in the car.

Uber now offers an on-demand car seat option for a $10 surcharge (additional to the UberX rates). That’s a small price to pay for a lot of peace of mind.

An orphan is born into the world. In the water he lies, nameless, parentless, sightless in his tiny basket. He was sent by sailors into a church, in order to be given a real sense of the world. Yet the church, having no use for a blind child, called him Peter Nimble and sent him off into the streets alone.

Peter Nimble somehow managed to survive the hard roads by robbing the markets of
food. After that had been done, he saw to getting himself other important items, such as
a bandage for his eyes, clothes and more necessities.

A horrible man named Mr. Seamus saw his obvious talent, so he milked the boy for all his worth.

For little Peter, life was hard. He earned his food by stealing. He earned his life by stealing. He earned his gift by stealing. That all changed the day he found the Fantastic Eyes.This powerful, moving book allows people to see what blind children such as
Peter go through, speaking with the power of imagination.

Though Auxier had stolen more than just time in the making of this book, he can be
forgiven for his masterful work, done by skillful hands.

Time to get cool! Our summer sale is going on at Babesta and we have the best indie brands–Munster Kids boys and girls clothing, Sons + Daughters sunglasses, Ruff & Huddle shorts and more. Snap up your faves to be spot on style for the summer! Meanwhile, we’re prepping the shop for fall, Back-to-School, if you can believe it! (As much as we love B-2-S, it’s so hard to think of sweaters and jeans when it’s soooooo darn hot!)